Do you think on some level he wanted them to see it?

Abso-friggin-lutely. But I think he wanted it to relieve him of the burden of telling them himself what is going on in his head. I suppose he felt that as an artist, this is the way he communicates so it's fair for him to ambush them with the paintings rather than try and orally convey their contents.

a grown man

Really? I got the impression that he was in his late teens.

I suppose he felt that as an artist, this is the way he communicates so it's fair for him to ambush them with the paintings rather than try and orally convey their contents.

If he could orally convey it, he wouldn't have the urgency to paint. (not an argument I was trying to bring you to, just working it out for myself). They were his two great works- I don't know how he could have communicated it. He could've said "Hey guys, there's a crucifixion." But that only tells them he's done something they don't approve of- from that description they can't even begin to think why.

Really? I got the impression that he was in his late teens.

By the end of the book, he was already past high school and had done at least some college, plus at least a year in Europe. I don't remember whether they were clear on whether he'd graduated college or not, but he's at least 22 or so by that point.

That old, huh. In any case, I don't think his inter-personal skills are very highly developed. I don't think he knows how to communicate in any way other than painting.

The Rabbi impressed me. I half-expected him to be rigidly orthodox (in the generic meaning of the word), but he made a real effort to accommodate Asher. Plus he keeps in contact with the secular world as evidence by Jacob. The Rabbi was truly upset at having to expel Asher, and not just because of the paintings but because I think he felt he had failed Asher.

Really? I thought he was, like, 19.

And when would he have gained the maturity to talk about these things with his parents? They NEVER seemed to talk about anything the least bit tough. His behavior was all of a piece with his behavior during his entire life as written.

Really? I got the impression that he was in his late teens.

Connie, he's at least 20 by then. He was born in 1943, and after a quick skim I think the Brooklyn Crucifixions were displayed about 3 to 4 years after Jacob Kahn finished campaigning for Kennedy.

If he could orally convey it, he wouldn't have the urgency to paint. (not an argument I was trying to bring you to, just working it out for myself). They were his two great works- I don't know how he could have communicated it. He could've said "Hey guys, there's a crucifixion." But that only tells them he's done something they don't approve of- from that description they can't even begin to think why.

It's funny but as I was explaining how he could have told them something I started to understand that he felt his only means of communication was through his art. And it's not like they wouldn't have seen his paintings on the covers of Time, Newsweek and the local papers. So the same end result would have occurred. But he could have tipped them off not to attend the show and been humiliated in front of all those people. That much would not have been hard to do.

I just checked though the book. He graduates college, then goes to Europe that summer. He's there for at least a year, maybe two, and the paintings are displayed that winter, so he'd be 23 or 24. Also, I'd guess it as 1967 or 1968 because of the way his parents were talking about what was going on at colleges.

But he could have tipped them off not to attend the show and been humiliated in front of all those people.

That would still have required him to confront the issue, and they would have asked "why?", and he'd have to admit he'd consciously betrayed, in a way, everything he was raised to be. Yes, it was cowardly, but it fits. Didn't he try to get some paints so he could tone down the crucifixions?

He asked Anna to let him.